Improvement in apparatus for refining sulphur



' H. `I-I.;EAM-ES'. l Apparatus for` Refining Sulphur-f No.A 204,206.Patented may 28, 187s.-

Witne s se s STATES PATENT QFFIGE. q

AHENRY H. EAMES, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN APPARATUS FOR REFINING SULPHUR.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 204,206, dated May Q8,1878; application filed December 5, 1877.

To all whom it may conce/m:

Beit known that I, HENRY H. EAMEs, of the city and county of SanFrancisco, and State of California, have invented anuApparatus forReducing and Refining Sulphur 5' and I do hereby declare the followingto be afull, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to van improved method andapparatus for reducingcrude sulphur, and separating the sulphur from the foreign material withwhich it is intermixed in its native state, both the reducing and reningbeing performed in one operation in the manner hereinafter described.

There exist on the Pacific coast quite a number of mines or depositsfrom which free sulphur, intermixed with earthy and mineral matter, canbe taken in almost unlimited quantities. The usual method employed foryconverting this crude sulphur into a merchantable article was tovolatilize the sulphur in retorts and then con den se the fumes.Attempts haveV been also made to separate thesulphur by a fusingprocess, by the direct application 'of nre underneath a vessel on whichthe 'crude' material is placed. This is', however, dangerous, as thefumes arising from the heated sulphur are apt to take fire and fire themass.v

Steam has also been used, but nndervconditions not altogether favorablefor the rapid reduction or complete refining of the sulphur.

My invention consists in rthe employment of superheated steam for fusingthe sulphur, by

.which means the ymaterial is morev easily and rapidly reduced thanbythe use of wet steam direct from the boiler, and also in the use of astraining apparatus and material, by means of which the crude sulphur inthefurnace is drawn out in a thoroughly-rened condition, all the dirt orearthy matterl being completely separated from it. e

Let A represent a metal tank, of any desired form and size. UsuallyI'should make it cylindrical, but its shape is not material. Aconvenient manner of mounting the tank is to suspend it on trunnions BB, which bear on the upper ends of two uprights or standards, C C, oneon each side, so that the tank can be .tilted to empty the earthy matterleft after the Sulphur is drawn off in the manner herein described; or,if the tank is stationary, doors may i be'provided, which are madelsteam-tight by the use of rubber gaskets, through which the earthymatter may be removed after the sulphur is drawnoi. The tank is providedwith a cover, F, formed insuch a manner ,thatit can be madesteam-tightwhen in place, and

sothaty it can be readily removed when' vdespecification.

On the upper rim of the tank, I make an out-V .y ward-projeetin g ange,and the coveris made y large enough to correspond therewith.' The' edgeof the cover may then be secured to thek ilange by means of boltsandnuts placed at l intervals aroimd the rim. p To brace the center ofthis cover and prevent its being bulged by' inside pressure, two uprightstandards,'G G, are secured to the tank and cover. Isn'the'upper end ofeach of these standardsis made a hole-'or slot, II. One end of a strongcrossbar, I, is then slipped in each of these holes, so that the barwill pass across the cover.

Through a hole in the middle of 'this 'cross-bar',

I, which is tapped with screw-threads, is a screw, J, which maybe turneddown against Y the center of the cover. Any other convenient method ofproperly securingthe lcover may,

however, be employed. v v

The tank A, I make preferably of wroughti f iron. The lower portion orbottom ofthe tank is also made of wrought-iron.

made in a funnel shape, as shown. At the bottom of the funnel-shapedportion of this wooden bottom is a draw-hole,'D, which also passesthrough the iron bottom of the tank,

serving to draw off the refined sulphur.

At the point on the wooden sides of vthe bottom Where the lower ends ofthe siaves rest, and where the funnel shape commences,A spaceis left toform a support or shoulder for a transverse perforated false bottom orstrainer,l E, which isalso made of wood. On top of this transverseperforated false wooden bottom or 1 strainer E, I lay a piece ofordinary'gunnycloth, such as is used for potato-sacks, &c. This gunnyforms an additional filtering medium, through which the sulphur mustpass before going through the perforations in this On this iron bottom Iplace an internal wooden bottom,

false wooden bottom into the main bottom, from which it is drawn olf.This gunny or ltering material eectually prevents any of the gangue orearthy matter from coming down through the perforations in the falsebottom, and atthe same time admits of the pure sulphur passing readilyVthrough its meshes, thus refining it in the operation of reducing. Apipe or tube, L, extends downward 'from the lower portion of thefunnel-shaped bottom of the tank, so as to form a continuation of thedischarge hole or opening, and a cock, M, serves to close the tube, whendesired. This tube L passes through a box, N, for the purposehereinafter described. K is a superheater, which is couveniently locatedwith reference to the tank. The steam-pipe O from the boiler passesthrough the superheater, and then, extending upward to near themid-height of the tank, is

divided into two branches, l? Q, each of which is provided with a cock,R. The upper branch, P, of the steam-pipe is connected by a suitablecoupling at S with a short pipe, T, which leads into the top of thetank, while the lower branch, Q, is conn eeted by a similar couplingto ashort pipe, U, which terminates in the box N.

In operation the crude sulphur, as it comes from the mine, is dumpedinto the upright tank, so that the sulphur falls onto the gunny oriiltering material resting on the perforated false bottom of the tank.The cover is then placed on the tank and securely fastened. Thesuperheated steam is turned in by opening the cock R of the upper branchpipe. At the same time the cock It of the lower branch pipe is opened,so as to admit steam into the box N ,a

surrounding the discharge-pipe L.

The superheated steam, being admitted at the top of the mass of thesulphur, makes a descending current of steam with the descend- ,ingmaterial. This dry superheated steam causes sulphur to melt at fromsixteen to twentytwo pounds pressure on the tank, whereas the ordinarywet steam from the boiler will not .melt the sulphur sufficiently tocause it to flow at less than from thirty'to thirty-five poundspressure. The superheated steam, admitted as described, soon fuses thesulphur, which iiows down until in its fused state it reaches thefiltering medium or gunny which is spread over the perforated falsebottom. At this point the separation of the pure sulphur from the gangue is accomplished. The meshes of the gunny-cloth allow the fusedsulphur to pass through, but retain the gangue or earthy matter. Afterthe sulphur passes through the gunny-cloth it passes through the-perforated false bottom and in to the funnelshaped bottom of the tank,where it is drawn off by the discharge-pipe L.

The discharge-pipe L is kept heated by the ,steam, which is allowed toenter the box N, so

that the sulphur will ow freely, the whole pipe being surrounded bysteam, to prevent the sulphur from chilling and the pipe from clogging.`When all the sulphur has been melted and withdrawn the cover of thetank is removed, and, if a tilting tank, the gangue or earthy matterremaining may be dumped out; or it may be removed through doors, asstated. A steam-gage,`V, is arranged to indicate the pressure on thetank.

It will thus be seen that I provide an apparatus for refining andreducing crude sulphur at one operation. The use of steam for reducingsulphur has previously been tried; but it was not superheated. Theordinary wet steam requires a greater pressure to accomplish the object,and its condensation and the consequent precipitation of water to thebottom of the tank causes trouble.

However, where the wet steam has been used it has been introduced intothe bottomof the tank, whereasA I introduce the superheated steam above,and

this causes a continuous ow of sulphur with the current of steam. Bymymethod the mass never clogs, whereas with the wet steam i11- troducedfrom below it does give trouble from clogging. By using the gunny-clothas a filtering material, supported on a perforated false bottom, I am4enabled to draw off the sulphur as pure as it is possible to refine itby mechanical means-a result not accomplished by the use of perforatedplates alone, or by any other means heretofore employed.

I am aware that the jacketed discharge-pipe is not new, per se.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters` l. The reducing-tank A, provided with a, woodenlining and wooden bottom, substan-` tially as shown, and for the purposeherein dea scribed.

2. The reducing-tank A, having the funnelshaped wooden bottom, with itsexterior flat rim to receive and support the wooden lining,substantially as shown and herein described.

3. The funnel-shaped Wooden bottom, having its ange or rim iitted toreceive the wooden lining and to support the strainer E and filteringmaterial,y substantially as herein described.

4. The reducing-tank A, mounted on trunnions B B, and sustained bystandards C` C, provided near its bottom with sieve E, and connected bypipes T P Q U with superheater K, in combination with discharge-pipe L,provided with the surrounding jacket N, as set forth.

In witness whereof, I hereunto set my hand and seal.

